SpongeBob SquarePants (Broadway) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (1,349)
See it if you want to be entertained by a show that is fun from start to finish. Also see it if you aren't a theater snob.
Don't see it if You're a theater snob. What about "Spongebob Squarepants" sounds like an evening of high brow theater is beyond me. Read more
See it if You want to see a musical full of everything you love about musicals!!! This show is absolutely fantastic!!! I smiled from beginning to end!
Don't see it if If don’t want to enjoy every moment of awesomeness that happens onstage at The Palace! So much talent, so much color & joy! High praise!
See it if You love Spongebob and all of the other Bikini Bottom characters! Don't forget about Patchy the Pirate. You want to have a fun experience!
Don't see it if You are looking to hate-watch it.
See it if Your a fan of the show, but even if you're not. Was a wonderful production that the whole family could enjoy.
Don't see it if Your looking for a serious drama, this show is all about fun!
See it if you want to see a wildly creative staging of a fun, well written, acted, and sung musical for kids and adults in the same vein as Hairspray.
Don't see it if you want a musical that is more serious.
See it if you are a SPONGEBOB fan or if you want to be truly entertained. This is a spectacularly designed show. It is a full on party waiting for you
Don't see it if you dislike movement or have a distaste for clever, innovative theatre. Just go. You will have a blast. Sit in the mezzanine. Best seats.
See it if you love an excellent set, great dance numbers and wonderful vocal talent
Don't see it if you think some jokes can be too silly
See it if You want a silly - forget your troubles - evening. What a production!
Don't see it if You take a dim view of nonsense and light entertainment.
Critic Reviews (60)
"There's a certain whiplash effect, to be sure, in jumping from Bowie/Eno gloom rock to bubblegum pop to country to gospel to more conventional show tunes. But there's also a generosity of spirit here that, together with the playful visual imagination and the extremely likeable, racially diverse cast, proves hard to resist...Musical-theater snobs should probably give 'SpongeBob' a wide berth. But audiences willing to go with its demented escapism should find plenty of fun."
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"Much impressive design and engineering work has gone into this $20 million production, which has been guided with an eye for childlike delight by Landau...The athletic Slater, meantime, proves to be a totally winning SpongeBob, accomplishing the unusual trick of seeming to exist simultaneously in two dimensions and three...And still: I can’t see recommending this show to anyone except true 'SpongeBob' buffs."
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"It is to the credit of the determined, big-hearted director and the charming, gifted star of 'SpongeBob SquarePants' that they have stayed relentlessly focused not only on the show’s famously goofy optimism but on its happily anarchic aesthetic...Not every attempt at singularity works, but, in its best moments, it is very much its own thing. Proudly so...In the final Broadway analysis, a show for those in the know and, of course, for kids...This is not a piece that will create many new believers."
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"A head-spinningly packed Act I spends far too long setting up these various threads...Act II is much smoother, and features some of the show’s highlights, like Squidward’s gorgeous tap number...It’s something of a challenge to stay fully invested and interested in this world for two hours and 30 minutes. But 'SpongeBob' certainly deserves points for creativity...Overall, it’s an entertaining, if overstuffed and a bit too experimental, homage to the long-running cartoon."
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"Despite some weak spots, the new Broadway musical adaptation works well enough as a lively, silly, trippy show appealing to kids, Millennials and anyone who has watched the TV show since it premiered in 1999...The elaborate production benefits from an immersive, blue-streaked visual design that spills into the audience...All in all, 'SpongeBob' manages to win over the crowd thanks to an energetic cast, psychedelic flair and party atmosphere."
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"If you're a fan, this one's a boat load of fun...They managed to replicate the loony shenanigans of the Bikini Bottom dwellers, all the while making it somewhat palatable for adult tastes...The book is a clever melding of the narrow cartoon storylines with the more expansive needs for Broadway...All of the leads embody their cartoon counterparts impressively...My one big qualm is the running time; 2.5 hours of 'SpongeBob' may be more than some kids can absorb."
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"Nothing short of genius...Landau and her creative team have reimagined the television series for the stage, building a world that resembles the cartoon, while taking brilliant advantage of this new medium...Landau develops the vibe of a rock concert throughout, while Jarrow's text theatricalizes the incendiary humor...The show, however, is on the fatty side...SpongeBob might save the day in the end, but Landau is the real hero in this venture, and an inspiring one at that."
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"What makes the production work so well is that Landau's lovably energetic company is staged in movements that effectively replicate those of their animated characters...The production values are so strong that they come close to covering up the merely serviceable quality of much of the written material...But there's no denying that 'SpongeBob' is an optical treasure filled with clever stagecraft and played by a top-shelf company."
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